Grand Jury Convenes to Investigate Killing of JonBenet Ramsey

A grand jury convened today to investigate the killing of JonBenet Ramsey and use its subpoena powers to try to get the answers that have eluded the police for nearly two years.

The 6-year-old was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in December 1996, and the failure to make an arrest since then has led to accusations that the police and prosecutors botched the case, perhaps deliberately.

Six months ago, the police asked that the case be turned over to a grand jury, saying they needed the panel's subpoena powers to get to the bottom of the slaying.

Comdr. Mark Beckner, who is now the Boulder Police Chief, noted that JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, had refused requests for interviews since he took over the case in December. The District Attorney, Alex Hunter, has said the Ramseys are under ''an umbrella of suspicion.''

The Ramseys have denied any involvement in their daughter's death. Their lawyer had no comment on the convening of the grand jury.

''This is where we've wanted to be for quite some time,'' Chief Beckner said today. ''The grand jury can be a good investigative tool, and we hope there may be something else out there that we maybe haven't gotten.''

A grand jury can force uncooperative witnesses to testify and can compel people to turn over documents and other potential evidence.

People who are called before a grand jury can invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, though prosecutors can then offer immunity and force them to testify.

Craig Silverman, a former Denver prosecutor, said that among the documents prosecutors would be interested in were the Ramseys' medical records, phone records and credit card bills.

A Denver defense lawyer, Scott Robinson, said there was almost no chance prosecutors would offer the Ramseys immunity. ''They're not going to turn the rain off on one of them until they know what actually happened,'' he said.

Generally, spouses cannot be forced to testify against each other, but the law also contains exceptions. Among them: if the case involves a serious crime like murder or child abuse; if the victim is under 12 and the suspect was a person in a position of trust, or if the testimony involves a continuing crime, like a conspiracy.

The four men and eight women on the grand jury will review more than 30,000 pages of reports and hundreds of pieces of evidence, including a paintbrush and cord used to strangle the girl, and items seized from the family's home that could have been used in the beating.

The grand jury can indict someone if it finds ''probable cause'' that the person committed a crime, a very low legal standard. But Mr. Hunter, the District Attorney, has said he will not seek an indictment unless there is enough evidence for a conviction.

Former Ramsey friends and a former Boulder detective accused the District Attorney of misconduct and called for his removal. Three times, Gov. Roy Romer refused to appoint a special prosecutor to take the case.

More than two dozen journalists gathered outside the courthouse as the members of the grand jury walked in.

The morning got off to an ugly start when a juror in an unrelated case walked past and shoved cameras back into the faces of the photographers. An ABC cameraman's equipment was knocked to the ground. The man was charged with harassment.